heel and his men at the sails, could only
utter an oath. He confesses he did that, and you will find no man
more convinced of the miracle than he."

The aged missionary paused, his eyes glowing. The _nonos_ that
settled in a swarm on his swollen, poisoned hands were nothing to
him in the rapture of that memory.

"This happened at night. Throughout the darkness the schooner stayed
outside the bay, returning only at daylight. Immediately after
anchoring, the captain hastened to inform me of the misfortune, and
found me saying mass. It was one of the few times he had ever been
in the sacred edifice."

Pere Simeon smiled, and held up one finger to emphasize my attention.
"As soon as mass was finished, Capriata told me of what had happened,
and his certainty that the mare was drowned. I fell on my knees and
said a despairing prayer to Joan. That instant we heard a neigh
outside, and rushing out of the church, we saw, cropping the grass
in the mission enclosure, the white mare that was destined to bear
the figure of Joan in the celebration of her fete."

I could not restrain an exclamation of amazement. "_Vraiment?_"

"_Absolument_," answered Pere Simeon. "Unbelievers might explain that
waves swept the mare ashore, and that through some instinct she
found her way along the beach or over the hills. But that she should
come to the mission grounds, to the very spot where her home was to
be, though she had never seen the islands before--no, my friend, not
even the materialist could explain that as less than supernatural. I
have sent the proofs to our order in Belgium. They will form part of
the evidence that will one day be offered to bring about the
canonization of Joan."

"And the procession, was it successful?" I inquired.

"_Mais oui!_ It was magnificent. When it started there was a grand
fanfare of trumpets, drums, fireworks, and guns. Never was there
such a noise here since the days of battle between the whites and
the natives. There were four choirs of fifty voices each, the
natives from all these nearby islands, each with a common chant in
French and particular _himines_ in Marquesan. I walked first with
the Blessed Sacrament; then came Captain Capriata with the banner of
the mission, and then, proceeded by a choir, came the virgin on the
white horse.

"She was all in silver armor, as was the mare. Two years before I
had sent to France for the pasteboard and the silver paper, and had
made the armor. The helmet